


The Hidden Tree

by tbiris



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-07
Updated: 2014-06-07
Packaged: 2018-02-03 17:06:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1752284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tbiris/pseuds/tbiris
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren and Armin go for a walk to their old hide-out in the aftermath of retaking Shiganshina.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Hidden Tree

**Author's Note:**

  * For [9thdoor](https://archiveofourown.org/users/9thdoor/gifts).



> Birthday fic for shipping_queen <3  
> Eremin with the prompt secret rendez-vous. I hope you all enjoy.

Shiganshina was no longer the city of their childhood. Most of the buildings they remembered were gone, stripped bare or barely standing. The broken wood had begun to rot, and the houses that had remained standing were covered with a layer of dust. The worst of it wasn’t the damage, but the red stain that seemed to have seeped into the earth and refused to dissolve. Their hands found each other and a small amount of reassurance filled them as they held tightly. Their hands remained together as they ventured to their special spot. The city hadn’t been cleared for exploration yet, so the excavation of Eren’s house hadn’t started yet and they decided to make use of the little time they could get together.

 

Armin glanced up at Eren. They had both lost so much over the years that it felt so strange coming back to the one place they had considered themselves safe from anything. The tree was just inside of Rose, and the cavern underneath it was hard to find unless you were looking for it.

“It’s strange.” Eren’s voice brought Armin out of his reverie as they drew up to the tree.

“It’s like it knew we would come back.” The roots they had attempted to twist to their will as children had grown further apart, letting their larger bodies now slide into their little hideaway.

 

Armin found himself waiting for the third thud to hit the ground after them. When he realised what he was listening for, tears came to his eyes, remembering that he wouldn’t ever hear it again.

“Don’t.” Eren’s voice was husky, rough with unshed tears. “Don’t cry or…”

Armin gave him a watery smile, knowing if his tears fell neither of them would stop and everyone would wonder where they went. They had no time to mourn their losses yet.

“It’s held up well,” Armin’s voice shook slightly. He caressed the roots and felt the top of the ceiling he had been barely able to reach as a child.

“It feels dry. Are the books okay?” he asked

Eren unwrapped one of the many cloth covered packages and quickly flipped the pages.

“It seems okay,” he murmured.

“I think you’re right,” Armin smiled. “It was waiting for us to come home. All of us.” His throat closed, wishing it really had been all three of them.

 

Eren pulled him into a hug, burying his face into his hair and Armin held onto him tightly, wishing they could be even closer.

“At least we made it,” Eren whispered above him. “We’re here because of her, she gave us this.” Armin clenched Eren’s shirt.

“Do you think… she’d want to be buried here?” He felt Eren’s cheek shift against his hair.

“I don’t know,” Eren admitted. “She had a weird way with the tree. It seemed to do more of the things she did to it than either of us. It kept crumbling on us until she helped.”

Armin let out a laughing sob, remembering when he had first met Eren here.

 

***

 

_He had been stuck under the tree for what felt like days. He wasn’t quite tall enough to reach the top where he fell in. The tears were making his face feel even dirtier even as they cleaned tracks through the dirt. He was so tired now from trying to climb up and his voice hurt from screaming for someone, anyone to find him._

 

_He stared up, hearing all of the voices nearby but he couldn’t get any words out. They died down all too soon and his stomach began to growl. He knew he should try to stop crying, conserve his water. He glanced up and saw some of the tree roots dangling down. Tree roots were edible right? He grabbed on one and yanked as hard as he could. He only wanted something to assuage his hunger. Instead he got another boy his age tumbling down the hole and knocking the wind out of him._

_“What the —” the boy wheezed, blinking down at his face. Armin choked back another sob, someone knew where he was now, but they were both stuck here._

_“Oh hey, are you the kid everyone was looking for?” The boy asked, still slightly out of breath. Armin just nodded and the brightest smile crossed the other’s face._

_“Great! Let’s try and get you to my dad then!” He went to try and climb, but before Armin could warn him he was tumbling back onto him._

 

_The elbow to his gut certainly didn’t help his attempt to catch his breath, but for some reason laughter bubbled out of him instead as the boy started apologizing over and over. The other slowly began to smile and laugh as well._

_“But seriously we should try to get out of here. Think you can help pull me up if I get you up there?”_

 

_Armin hesitated; he knew he was weak, as if the bullies weren’t enough to remind him of the fact._

_“Hey don’t worry if you can’t, at least you know where I am right? You probably need water and everything too.” The boy began to tug him up, but he really didn’t want to leave him there alone. It must have shown in his eyes because he was pulled into the other boy’s arms._

_“We have to give it a shot! If we don’t try at least we’ll both die here!” Armin felt his breath hitch as he stared into the depth of the boy’s eyes. Fire burned there, and he felt it warm him from the inside as the arms that surrounded him warmed from the outside. He took a deep breath and managed to gather some water into his mouth before he rasped out._

_“I’ll do it.”_

 

***

 

His grip tightened around Eren. He had managed to pull him up, learn the boy’s name and they found themselves returning to this spot with tools, making it easier to get in and out. He couldn’t ever forget those words, that fire. Even now it existed, ready to flare back at a moment’s notice.

“What are you thinking about?” Eren asked as he rubbed Armin’s back lightly. He allowed a small smile to cross his face.

“When we first met,” he admitted. He could feel Eren’s chest reverberate with his laugh.

“You threw me down the hole,” Eren accused. Armin felt his cheeks grow warm.

“I got you out later!”

“God, I think Mikasa thought we were both idiots when she first saw it.” Armin’s smile slipped as he tried to dampen the sorrow threatening to overwhelm him.

“Yeah,” he warbled, trying to hold his tears back. “You almost scared me to death when the two of you started running over.”

 

He could clearly remember the terror he felt, thinking that some of the bullies that had been following were chasing Eren and would find their hiding spot. The relief he felt when Eren introduced the two of them and the small flourish he had felt when she told him how they had met, how Eren told her to fight even as he told him. He had started to tell her that story and he could see her look of dismay at their hiding spot and immediately told them ways to make it safer for them all. She was their protector. She protected Eren from himself and his determination; she had protected Armin from those that would hurt him and from his weak self-esteem.

 

Now she was gone, she didn’t have to protect them anymore. It still hurt them both and there were nights where either of them would wake up with tears at the corner of their eyes.

“I’m not sure what I would have done without either of you,” Armin whispered. He drew back from Eren and offered him a weak smile. He saw a glimpse of the old Eren’s cocky grin.

“Died underneath a tree. At least you would have had a good gravestone.”

 

Armin felt his smile slip. Graves, if anything he’d love to see the ocean before dying, but he could choose where he wanted to die. Eren though, Eren he didn’t know.

“What if you don’t make it?” Armin whispered. He wrung his hands. They had lost Mikasa and a good portion of the army for their freedom. He wasn’t sure what they would have left at this rate.

“What if they decide you’re a liability? What if—” His thoughts were cut off by Eren’s searing lips on his own. It wasn’t their normal, hungry kiss, their ‘I don’t know if I’ll live today’ kiss. Eren’s lips left his own too quickly, left him wanting more.

 

“The ocean is a magnificent blue, eternal and deep. It stretches for as far as the eye can see.” Eren’s whispers were affecting more than he would like and he felt his body shuddering in response to the vibrations.

“There are all kind of creatures that live within it, mammals, fish we’ve never seen, creatures larger than all of the walls. They go deeper than anyone has seen and stretch up to the lands of snow and ice. They’ve seen the world and carry everything within them around it.” Armin chuckled lightly, remembering Eren’s face when he had first told him the stories.

 

“Armin, if I die, I’ll die. But you’ll see the ocean for all of us. If I live, I’ll live and we’ll see it together. We’ll travel the world; we’ll see everything it can see and more.” Armin could feel Eren’s body tense slightly with fear.

“Tell me,” he ordered, pressing a hand against Eren’s heart. He stared up into Eren’s eyes, stitching his every feature into his memory. His loving eyes, the slight upturn of his lips, the disarray of his hair, he welded them into his memory.

“If I die, take my ashes with you. I’ll travel with you to the end. If Mikasa’s ashes will be here, where we all belong, then I want to be in the ocean, so that no matter where you go I can follow you. Mikasa will always be here when you want to come home, so no matter what we’ll always wait for you.” Eren’s teasing grin came back at full force. “I’ll be waving at you with the ocean,” he laughed. Armin could tell he was forcing the joke, that they were both scared. It was such a stupid comment, but Eren’s laughter was infectious and he soon found himself laughing as well.

 

“That was so corny Eren,” he laughed, a small smile crossing his face. He slipped their hands together. The fear remained in his heart, but Eren lit a hope in him like he always did.

“But you’re right, no matter what happens, we’ll all be together. Always.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry and not sorry that you don't know what happens to Eren. I felt like it was ending enough to have a situation for both scenarios.  
> If you think of any other tags that would apply please do let me know.


End file.
